Tea is an infusion made by steeping processed leaves, buds, or twigs of the tea bush, Camellia sinensis, in hot water for several minutes, after which it is drunk.

The four basic types of true tea are black tea, oolong tea, green tea, and white tea.

The term “herbal tea” usually refers to infusions or tisane of fruit or herbs that contain no Camellia sinensis.

Tea is one of the most widely-consumed beverages in the world, second only to water. It has a cooling, slightly bitter, astringent flavor. It has almost no carbohydrates, fat, or protein. Tea is a natural source of the amino acid theanine, methylxanthines such as caffeine and theobromine, andpolyphenolic antioxidant catechins (often referred to as tannins).

The word tea came into the English language from the Chinese word for tea, which is pronounced tê in the Min Nan spoken variant. The British English slang word “char” for “tea” arose from its Mandarin Chinese pronunciation “cha” with its spelling affected by British English arhoticdialect pronunciation.

According to Mondal (2007, p. 519): “Tea originated in southeast Asia, specifically around the intersection of latitude 29°N and longitude 98°E, the point of confluence of the lands of northeast India, north Burma, southwest China and Tibet. The plant was introduced to more than 52 countries, from this ‘centre of origin’.”

Based on morphological differences between the Assamese and Chinese varieties, botanists have long asserted a dual botanical origin for tea; however, statistical cluster analysis, the samechromosome number (2n=30), easy hybridization, and various types of intermediate hybrids and spontaneous polyploids all appear to demonstrate a single place of origin for Camellia sinensis — the area including the northern part of Myanmar and Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China.

Yunnan Province is identified as “the birthplace of tea…the first area where humans figured out that eating tea leaves or brewing a cup could be pleasant.

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New America Media, News Report, Maria Shen & Jason Sanford

SAN FRANCISCO — Tin’s Tea House Lounge, a dim sum restaurant in the Bay Area, has darkened dining rooms. By purposely dimming the lights and other energy conservation, owner Alice Wan is conserving 33,000 kilowatt-hours a year.

Wan sees the financial benefit of going green.

“Just from installing strip curtains and gaskets in the refrigerators has saved me $1,100 already,” said Wan, whose establishment was certified green just over half a year ago. “You save money and do good to help the environment.”

Wan says her restaurant is now releasing 17,000 lbs. less carbon dioxide into the environment. Also, she annually saves 3.3 million gallons of water ($13,000) by using aerators, water conserving toilets, and pre-rinse spray nozzles, among other changes.

Since her restaurant became green, even the trash has been drastically reduced. Wan used to have trash picked up at least six times a week, if not daily. Now, because of wiser waste management, such as recycling, it is usually picked up twice at most.

Tin’s Tea House Lounge is not alone. It is just one of 67 restaurants in California certified “green” by Thimmakka.

For six years, Thimmakka, a nonprofit organization, has been has been working with the food service industry, aiming to give them the resources to become green organizations.

Thimmakka began its work in 2002 with ethnic restaurants. Initially, Ritu Primlani, the founder of Thimmakka, worked with Indian restaurants, speaking Punjabi or Hindi. But as her program expanded, Primlani found that “all ethnic communities are facing the same problem…even mainstream business face same problem: they really don’t have the time or resources to be environmentally conscious.”

“We do everything from product procurement to certification training. All restaurants have to do is say ‘yes’ and we get them certified green,” says Primlani.
Thimmaka-certified restaurants proudly post a special green sticker on their windows. Many times this attracts customers.

Kasia Lewakowski, 20, is an animal activist and customer of Ajanta Restaurant. She says, “it makes me feel good to eat here and know that I’m helping the Earth at the same time.”

Primlani says working with the food industry makes sense because “restaurants have an incredible environmental signature.”

The Environmental News Network names restaurants as the largest electricity consumers in the U.S. retail sector. The industry uses an average of five times more energy per square foot than other commercial buildings. China Delight, a Bay Area restaurant, reports that it uses electricity in “many, many things, from lighting to the refrigerator,” which is turned on 24 hours a day, as is the case in most restaurants. And, according to Primlani, “restaurants are also a significant user of water because of pre-cooking and post-cooking requirements.”

Thimmakka has been trying to reduce the environmental impact of restaurants, but it hasn’t always been easy. To Primlani, one of Thimmakka’s biggest challenges is that restaurant owners often think going green means spending green.

“It’s a culture of waste in the United States,” said Primlani. “The general consensus is that being environmentally friendly is expensive. That’s not the case.”
La Cocina, a non-profit organization that provides a kitchen space to low-income food entrepreneurs, is nestled inconspicuously on a residential street in San Francisco’s Mission District. It might not be a restaurant, but it has also been certified green by Thimmakka.

“We train 27 restaurants,” explains Program Director Caleb Zigas. These restaurants go into La Cocina regularly to use its kitchen. Businesses like Sabores del Sur , El Huarache Loco, and Estrellita’s Snacks form La Cocina’s predominately South American customer base. La Cocina not only saves these young businesses the start-up cost, but it also reduces the environmental impact of what would otherwise be 27 independently running commercial kitchens.

La Cocina operates sustainably, using organic foods in its enormous kitchen and “recycling and composting aggressively.” It recycles all its oil, employees bike to work, and most paperwork is done electronically. Even the building itself is built such that heating and cooling systems would not be necessary.

“Just on garbage disposal, we save $12,000 a year,” Zigas says.

Restaurants that have worked with Thimmakka testify to the economic advantages of going green:

“The initial costs for my electrical upgrades to energy efficient lighting were $860, of which the City of Berkeley covered all but $206. In addition to those savings, I will save $340 each year off my energy bill. All of the restaurant’s food waste was transferred to composting through the city, which also collects recyclables at no charge. I’m already saving more than $300 per month on garbage pick-up alone. It’s been a win-win situation all around,” writes Lacchu Moorjani, the owner of Ajanta, a restaurant that serves Indian cuisine in Berkeley, California.

The owner of Kamal Palace Indian Restaurant, also in the city of Berkeley, will be saving upwards of $6,000 in the upcoming year on his energy bill, and more than $1,000 on his garbage pickup fees.

The numbers attest to the resource-saving power of simple modifications—the kind that Thimmakka advocates.

But most restaurant owners don’t go green because they’re apprehensive about interference. Ritu Primlani explains that, usually, she gets 30 seconds to convince a restaurant owner to convert to sustainable practices. Most times, business owners don’t like the idea of having “a horde of inspectors come in tell them how to run their business.”

For other restaurant owners, going green isn’t an option simply because it’s something they’re unfamiliar with.

Wan, whose Tin’s Tea House Lounge is now green, admits that, “[Going green] is a gradual transition, little by little. It really all started when I was telling one of my customers ‘I want to help the environment, but I don’t know how.’”

Maria Shen is a writer at New America Media.

10-31

Short Notes on Q&A with : Aidan Goldsmith

Iraq — Q&A with International Rescue Committee Program Director Aidan Goldsmith

The International Rescue Committee restarted programs in Iraq in November 2007 and Aidan Goldsmith recently arrived to head up the relief effort. He shares his thoughts on the bleak humanitarian situation in Iraq and how the IRC is working to improve conditions for some of the most vulnerable families.

Five years after the start of the war in Iraq, how would you describe conditions for Iraqi people who have been displaced by violence?

Over 2.5 million people are internally displaced by the ongoing conflict and they need help now more than ever. It would not be a stretch to describe the situation for ordinary Iraqis as dire and as time goes on, the circumstances are not improving. Both uprooted families and the communities hosting them have few services that are functioning. There are pressing needs in all essential services including water, shelter, sanitation, food, health care and work opportunities. Women and children are especially vulnerable. Violence against them is on the rise and they are suffering in all sorts of ways as a result of the deteriorating health and education systems.

Are children able to go to school amid the ongoing violence?

Schools that are open are strained beyond capacity. In areas with huge influxes of internally displaced people, students now have to go to classes in shifts. What this means it that children are now getting little more than three hours of schooling a day, in classrooms with as many as 60 pupils. The reality for many of the kids is even if they are attending school, they have very little opportunity to learn.

In volatile areas of the country, it is not uncommon for parents to keep their children home from school because of violence on the streets. They are afraid their children could get caught in the cross fire.

Our concern is that the longer kids are out of school, the less likely they will return and that’s a situation that we want to avoid. Children who drop out of school or can’t go because of violence are missing out on the only social and emotional support systems available to them. Among other things, they will have fewer work opportunities down the line.

We’re really afraid that there’s going to be a generation of children who missed out on primary and secondary education. That’s going to have a major impact on Iraq’s future recovery.

What is the IRC doing to help children who have fallen behind in their schooling?

We’re starting programs in northern and southern Iraq that aim to help children catch up on missed schooling. We’re especially targeting displaced children because they are having the most trouble keeping up.

This summer, we are running accelerated learning classes for three months at Qalawa Camp in Suleimanyah in Northern Iraq. Families have been living there for as long as two years. Most of the children there have been in and out of school depending on the levels of violence in their communities of origin. Many of these kids have restarted school in Suleimanyah, but are now way behind for their age. So we want to do everything we can to help them catch up. There are hundreds of children in the camp and absolutely nothing for them to do over the summer, so this program will also provide recreational activities, sports and art classes.

We also just received a donation from Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to rehabilitate three congested schools in Najaf and Karbala that are hosting more than 2,000 displaced children. So we hope to begin work on new classrooms and other renovations this summer and launch accelerated learning programs for children who are behind in their studies soon after.

We’ve identified more than a dozen other schools in and around Najaf that need help to accommodate influxes of displaced kids and we’re looking for assistance to do that.

We’ve already completed construction of new classrooms at an overcrowded school near Erbil in Northern Iraq. The school’s student population had more than doubled in size as more and more displaced families fled to the area.

You’ve spent time speaking with Iraqi families. How come they are not returning home?

Despite the fact that they are living in abysmal conditions, the vast majority of displaced Iraqis do not want to return to their communities out of fear of the violence that awaits them. Many of the displaced have had family members killed as a result of sectarian violence or have witnessed events too horrible to recount. Their fear is genuine and runs deep. Also, many of their homes have either been destroyed or occupied by other families since fleeing, so they don’t necessarily have anywhere to return to.

What impacts you the most about the stories you hear from the people you are assisting?

The most heartbreaking thing is how much their lives have changed for the worst. Baghdad used to be a thriving city where people of all ethnicities lived together in relative peace. Many of the Iraqis I have spoken to cannot believe how divided and violent the country has become. Iraqis were hard working and highly educated. So many families have lost everything including loved ones, homes and businesses as a result of the conflict. They have lost faith in the government and feel the authorities have provided little help, leaving them to fend for themselves in squalid conditions. Thankfully community members that are hosting them have been generous in providing things like clothing and household items. But generally, they are living day-to-day, waiting to see what happens, and with little optimism that anything will change soon. It is not surprising that many are traumatized and living with a profound sense of hopelessness.

10-31

By Nilofar Suhrawardy, MMNS

Hindu and Muslim members of India’s ruling Congress party pray for the success of confidence vote for the Congress party-led government, in the northern Indian city of Allahabad, July 22, 2008. India’s government faces a tight vote of confidence in parliament on Tuesday that will decide the fate of a civilian nuclear cooperation deal with the United States and could trigger a snap election.    REUTERS/Jitendra Prakash

NEW DELHI: With due respect to all the concern displayed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for uplifting minorities in the country, one is compelled to wonder at the timing of the steps taken last week in this direction. Announcements made now, howsoever well intentioned they may be, are subject to being viewed as political tactics to woo the minority vote-bank. During a meeting of the union cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister (July 17), the progress of implementation of his new 15-point program for welfare of minorities was reviewed. The Prime Minister voiced the need for accelerating these measures. “The Prime Minister said that there has been progress indeed, it would be further accelerated,” Finance P. Chidambaram told reporters.

The cabinet gave its approval to several exclusive schemes for development of minorities, according to an official release. These include scholarship schemes for students belonging to minority communities, 30 percent of which would “earmarked for girl students.” There would be merit-cum-means scholarship for technical and professional courses at undergraduate and post-graduate levels; full reimbursement of fees for 70 institutions listed in the scheme; in addition to maintenance allowances and scholarships to students.

Taking note of baseline survey carried out to identify “development deficits” in 90 minority concentration districts, the cabinet gave its nod to “multi-sectoral development program formulated for addressing development deficits in areas of education, sanitation, pucca house, drinking water and electricity supply, etc.” The scheme would be implemented from 2008-09.

The Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF) corpus has been increased from one billion rupees to Rs 250 billion “to enable it expand its education development activities,” according to the cabinet.

To enable minorities have greater access to credit, all public sector banks have been directed to open more branches in identified minority concentration districts. Till the end of March this year, 523 branches were opened in such areas, the cabinet observed.  Public sector banks are to step up lending to minorities from nine to 15 percent during the next three years. 

To improve access to education, states have been advised to open “girls only upper primary schools in minority concentration areas,” including the blocks with more than 20 percent population of Muslims.

In addition, the cabinet gave its nod to revise madarsa modernization program “to make it more attractive by providing better salary to teachers, increased assistance for books, teaching aids, and computers, introduce vocational subjects, etc.” Besides, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has been directed “to work out modalities so that universities are encouraged to recognize madarsa qualifications.”

Some of the measures initiated to enable “social inclusion” of minorities include setting up of an “autonomous assessment and monitoring authority” in the Planning Commission to “analyze data collected for taking appropriate and corrective policy decisions.” In addition, funds have been sanctioned for 13 universities to start centers for studying social exclusion and inclusive policy for minorities, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

During the same meeting, the cabinet also gave its approval to setting up of eight new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat, Punjab and in Madhya Pradesh at a total cost of Rs 60.8 billion for six-year period. While the new IITs of Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh are likely to commence their sessions from the next academic year (2009-10), the other six are going to begin theirs this year itself, from 23rd July.

Equally significant is the central government’s decision to observe 11th November, the birthday of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the country’s first Union Education Minister as “National Education Day,” without declaring it as a holiday. Known as an eminent educationist and a great freedom fighter, Maulana Azad (11 November 1888 to 22 February 1958) also supported Hindu-Muslim unity and opposed the country’s partition on communal lines. His actual name was Abul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed. As he had adopted Azad (Free) as his pen name, he is commonly remembered as Maulana Azad. An eminent Congress leader of his times, Azad earlier rose to prominence through his writings as a journalist.

Over the years, there have been demands from several states and various sections of the society to observe 11th November as “National Education Day.” In keeping with contributions made by Azad, the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development decided last week (July 18) to commemorate his birthday in a befitting manner. His contribution to the cause of education would be recalled with educational institutions at all levels being involved in “organizing seminars, symposia, essay-writing, elocution competitions, workshops and rallies with banners, cards and slogans on the importance of literacy and nation’s commitment to all aspects of education,” according to an official release. Besides, initiatives taken in setting up of model schools would be projected in “association with various industry bodies, whose fullest cooperation also would be sought in the development of human resources in the country.” The initiatives taken at all levels, including higher secondary education, vocational education and higher education sectors by the central government on its own, as well as through private-public partnership would be projected.

It is to be now watched, the degree to which these measures are actually implemented and contribute for uplifting minorities at all levels: — educationally, economically, socially and politically!

10-31

By Sumayyah Meehan, MMNS

The First Annual Red Bull Car Park Drift will be held in the capital of Beirut on Saturday, July 26.  The site of the unique event is the City Mall complex in a 2-storey underground car park that has been specially reserved for the occasion. A custom made track has already been constructed at the site complete with pillars as well as manufactured 90 and 180 degree turns. Drivers will have to weave in and out of the track obstacles as fast as they can, as there is a definite need for speed to even qualify for the event.

According to Media Coordinator Charbel Bakhos, the majority of the drivers are local Lebanese but a few drivers are expected from neighboring Gulf States, “Drivers from Lebanon will participate, and there might be Arab and foreign drivers. The final list will be confirmed Wednesday night after the qualifications.” All drivers will use their own cars for ‘drift’ tricks. Anticipation is very high that they will wow the crowd with fast and furious fishtails, spinouts and superb skid outs. Judging will take place based on speed, style and originality. The Judges themselves have been handpicked from the motor racing World. Rally Drivers themselves, judges include Jean-Pierre Nasrallah, Billy Karam and Red Bull driver Abdo Feghali. Trophies will be awarded to the top drifters.

Special measures have been taken to ensure the safety of spectators and drivers during the event as the street-version of the sport, known as the ‘Arab Drift’, is notoriously dangerous with spectators often being run over or drivers injured when they lose control of their cars. “There are special areas for spectators and special places for invitees as well as the Media. There are plasma screens that will cover all the aspects of the event. Exceptional safety precautions have been taken to guarantee safety. Tires have been placed around the blocks of the track. There are also safety spaces set between the track and the spectators areas,” explains Bakhos.

The history of the Arab Drift has been traced to Saudi Arabia where enthusiasts of the extreme motor sport often gather in the wee hours of the night to elude authorities. They perform sometimes death-defying tricks in the open desert on smooth roads that are empty during the very late night. The street version of the sport continues to spread like wildfire across the Middle East where street drifts have been held in Dubai, Kuwait and Bahrain.

“Up until now this event is specific for Lebanon. After the event the decision will be made to see if it might be held in other regions or a second time in Lebanon,” says Bakhos.

10-31

Retired General Antonio Taguba, the officer who led the Army’s investigation into Abu Ghraib, recently wrote in the preface to the new report, Broken laws, Broken Lives:

“There is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account.”

Should those who ordered war crimes be held to account? With the conclusion of the Bush regime approaching, many people are dubious, even those horrified by Administration actions. They fear a long, divisive ordeal that could tear the country apart. They note that such division could make it far harder for the country to address the many other crises it is facing. They see the upcoming elections as a better way to set the country on a new path.

Many Democrats in particular are proposing to let bygones be bygones and move on to confront the problems of the future, rather than dwelling on the past. The Democratic leadership sees rising gas prices, foreclosures, and health care costs, as well as widespread dissatisfaction with the direction of the country, as playing in their favor. Why risk it all by playing the war crimes blame game? Perhaps some Democratic leaders are also concerned that their own role in enabling or even encouraging war crimes might be exposed.

Meanwhile, the evidence confirming not only a deliberate policy of torture, but of conspiring in an illegal war of aggression and conducting a criminal occupation, continues to pile ever higher. Bush’s own press secretary Scott McClellan has revealed in his book, What Happened, how deliberately the public was misled to foment the attack on Iraq. Philippe Sands’ new book, Torture Team, has shown how the top legal and political leadership fought for a policy of torture — circumventing and misleading top military officials to do so. Jane Mayer’s The Dark Side, reveals that a secret report by the Red Cross — given to the CIA and shared with President Bush and Condoleezza Rice — found that U.S. interrogation methods are “categorically” torture and that the “abuse constituted war crimes, placing the highest officials in the U.S. government in jeopardy of being prosecuted.”

Despite the reluctance to open what many see as a can of worms, there are fresh moves on many fronts to hold top U.S. officials accountable for war crimes.

Courts: U.S. courts have issued a barrage of decisions against the Administration’s claim that they can do anything and still be within the law. The Supreme Court ruled June 12 that the Administration cannot deny habeas corpus rights to Guantánamo detainees. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals on June 30 overturned the Pentagon’s enemy combatant designation of a Chinese Muslim held in Guantánamo for the last six years. A Maine jury in April acquitted the Bangor Six of criminal trespass charges stemming from protesters’ claim that the “Constitution was being violated by the Bush Administration’s involvement in Iraq.”

Congressional investigation: Rep. John Conyers has recently brought top policy-makers, including former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, Vice President Cheney’s Chief of Staff David Addington, and this week former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith and former Attorney General John Ashcroft before a House Judiciary subcommittee and grilled them on their role crafting the Administration’s torture policy.

Senate hearings in June revealed that treatment of Guantánamo captives was modeled on techniques allegedly used by Communist China to force false confessions from U.S. soldiers.

Impeachment: Despite Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s instruction to keep impeachment “off the table,” Rep. Dennis Kucinich for the first time brought an impeachment resolution to the House floor that incorporated a devastating, thirty-five article indictment spelling out Bush Administration war crimes and crimes against the Constitution. Now Rep. Conyers has announced that the Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on the charges July 25. Even after the Bush Administration leaves office, the judges it appointed who appear complicit in war crimes — notably torture policy architect Judge Jay S. Bybee — could still be impeached.

Truth commission: In response to General Taguba’s accusations, New York Times Op-Ed columnist Nicholas D. Kristof has just called for the establishment of a truth commission — like that of post-Apartheid South Africa — with subpoena power to investigate the abuses in the aftermath of 9/11 and “lead a process of soul searching and national cleansing.”

International: In May, Vanity Fair magazine published an article by British human rights attorney Philippe Sands, in which he described the reasons Administration lawyers face a real risk of criminal investigations if they stray beyond U.S. borders. The British parliament is about to launch an investigation of Washington’s lying to the British government about its use of its facilities for “extraordinary rendition.” Constitutional lawyer Jonathan Turley recently said, “I think it might in fact be time for the United States to be held internationally to a tribunal. I never thought in my lifetime I would say that.” Colin Powell’s former chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson publicly advised Feith, Addington, And Albert Gonzales “never to travel outside the U.S., except perhaps to Saudi Arabia and Israel.”

Prosecution: According to a recent Mellman Group survey commissioned by the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans of all political stripes overwhelmingly support the appointment of an independent prosecutor to investigate both the destruction of the CIA’s interrogation tapes and the possible use of torture by the agency. Every segment of the electorate — including majorities of Democrats (82 percent), independents (62 percent), and Republicans (51 percent) — want to hold this administration accountable for its role in the destruction of the torture tapes.

Vincent Bugliosi, the former Los Angeles County Prosecutor who has won twenty-one convictions in murder trials, including Charles Manson’s, has just published The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, which argues that there is overwhelming evidence President Bush took the nation to war in Iraq under false pretenses and must be prosecuted for the consequent deaths of over 4,000 U.S. soldiers.

Dean Lawrence Velvel of the Massachusetts School of Law at Andover is planning a September conference to map out war crimes prosecutions against President Bush and other administration officials. Velvel says that “plans will be laid and necessary organizational structures set up, to pursue the guilty as long as necessary and, if need be, to the ends of the Earth.” Reps. John Conyers, Jerrold Nadler, and Bill Delahunt have called on Attorney General Michael Mukasey to appoint a special counsel to investigate the rendition of Canadian citizen Maher Arar to Syria.

Citizen action: Voters in Brattleboro and Marlboro, Vermont this spring approved a measure that instructs police to arrest President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for “crimes against our Constitution,” should they venture into those precincts.

All these developments suggest approaches that might be used to hold Bush Administration war criminals accountable. Establishing accountability for U.S. war crimes in the Iraq war era is the sine qua non for initiating a new era on different principles. Here are nine reasons why we must not let bygones be bygones:

1. World peace cannot be achieved without human rights and accountability.

According to Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, chief American prosecutor at the Nuremberg Tribunals, “The ultimate step in avoiding periodic wars, which are inevitable in a system of international lawlessness, is to make statesmen responsible to law.” Moving in that direction will be impossible unless such responsibility applies to the statesmen of the world’s most powerful countries, and above all the world’s sole superpower. U.S. support for the war crimes charges like those just brought by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will represent little more than hypocrisy if U.S. Presidents are not held to the same standard.

2. The rule of law is central to our democracy.

Most Americans believe that even the highest officials are bound by law. If we send mentally-disabled juveniles to prison as adults, but let government officials who authorize torture and launch illegal wars go scot-free, we destroy the very basis of the rule of law.

3. We must not allow precedents to be set that promote war crimes.

Executive action unchallenged by Congress changes the way our law is interpreted. According to Robert Borosage, writing for Huffington Post, “If Bush’s extreme assertions of power are not challenged by the Congress, they end up not simply creating new law, they could end up rewriting the Constitution itself.”

4. We must restore the principles of democracy to our government.

The claim that the President, as commander-in-chief, can exercise the unlimited powers of a king or dictator strikes at the very heart of our democracy. As Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson put it, we, as citizens, would “submit ourselves to rules only if under rules.” Countries like Chile can attest that the restoration of democracy and the rule of law requires more than voting a new party into office — it requires a rejection of impunity for the criminal acts of government officials.

5. We must forestall an imperialist resurgence.

When they are out of office, the advocates of imperial expansion and global domination have proven brilliant at lying in wait to undermine and destroy their opponents.

They did it to destroy the presidencies of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. They’ll do it again to an Obama Administration unless their machinations are exposed and discredited first.

6. We must have national consensus on the real reasons for the Bush Administration’s failures.

Republicans are preparing to dominate future decades of American politics by blaming the failure of the Iraq war on those who “sent a signal” that the U.S. would not “stay the course” whatever the cost. Establishing the real reasons for the failure of the U.S. in Iraq — the criminal and anti-democratic character of the war — is the necessary condition for defeating that effort.

7. We must restore America’s damaged reputation abroad.

The world has watched as the United States — the self-proclaimed steward of democracy — has systematically broken the letter and spirit of its Constitution, violated international treaties, and ignored basic moral tenets of humanity. As former Navy General Counsel Alberto Mora recently pointed out to the Senate Armed Services Committee, our nation’s “policy of cruelty” has violated our “overarching foreign policy interests and our national security.” To establish international legitimacy, we must demonstrate that we are capable of holding our leaders to account.

8. We must lay the basis for major change in U.S. foreign policy.

Real security in the era of global warming and nuclear proliferation must be based on international cooperation. But genuine cooperation requires that the U.S. entirely repudiate the course of the past eight years. The American people must understand why international cooperation rather than pursuit of global domination is necessary to their own security. And other countries must be convinced that we really mean it.

9. We must deter future U.S. war crimes.

The specter of more war crimes haunts our future. Rumors continue to circulate about an American or American-backed Israeli attack on Iran. A recently introduced House resolution promoted by AIPAC “demands” that the President initiate what is effectively a blockade against Iran — an act seen by some as tantamount to a declaration of war. Nothing could provide a greater deterrent to such future war crimes than establishing accountability for those of the past.
Holding war criminals accountable will require placing the long-term well-being of our country and the world ahead of short-term political advantage. As Rep. Wexler put it, “We owe it to the American people and history to pursue the wrongdoing of this Administration whether or not it helps us politically or in the next election. Our actions will properly define the Bush Administration in the eyes of history and that is the true test.”

10-31

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After months of secrecy and intrigue, presidential rivals Barack Obama and John McCain are almost ready to unveil the winners in the vice presidential sweepstakes.

In the next few weeks, both candidates will end the suspense of a cat-and-mouse selection game that has been conducted with rare discipline and infrequent leaks.

Will Democrat Obama defy predictions, bury his doubts and make former rival Hillary Clinton his choice? Or will he turn to an ally and friend who heads a battleground state like Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine?

Is Republican McCain ready to tap former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who seemed to annoy him so often during their primary battle but has since become a steady surrogate?

Obama and McCain have largely kept the wraps on their deliberations over such questions, even while appearing in public over the last few weeks with many of those sparking the heaviest speculation.

“Both camps deserve applause. This has been a perfect process on both sides,” said Democratic consultant Dane Strother. “They have kept the discussion on their ideas about the future instead of going back and forth in public about who they will pick, and that doesn’t always happen.”

A report on Monday that McCain would announce his choice this week in order to upstage Obama’s overseas trip ignited a frenzy of speculation, which the Arizona senator’s aides were happy to keep alive with a series of “no comment” responses.

“We have the same answer as we always had,” McCain told reporters with a laugh during a campaign appearance in New Hampshire on Tuesday. “We’ll let you know when we have an announcement.”

Obama also has refused to discuss his thinking about a running mate and the vetting of potential choices like Clinton, Kaine, Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh.

“The next time you hear from me about the vice presidential selection process will be when I have selected a vice president,” the Illinois senator told reporters last month.

But time is running out on the process, which must conclude for Obama by the Democratic convention in the last week of August and for McCain by the Republican convention in the first week in September.

Neither candidate is likely to compete for attention with the start of the Olympics in China, which begin on August 8. That leaves the next two weeks — or the days immediately before each convention — as the window for an announcement.

Convention Choices

Many strategists in both parties expect the choices to come shortly before the conventions. Some Republicans have urged McCain to try to deflate any Obama momentum by announcing his choice right after the Democratic convention ends.

McCain, 71, is well-known for his foreign and military policy expertise, but choices like former venture capitalist Romney and former Budget Director and Trade Representative Rob Portman could boost his economic credentials.

Obama, 46, must decide whether he wants to reinforce his message of change with a new face like Kaine or Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, or add foreign policy heft and experience with someone like Biden or former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn.

For more purely geographical considerations, Kaine could help in the emerging battleground of Virginia and Bayh could help in Indiana, which Obama hopes to put in play.

The possibilities for McCain include three choices from battleground states — former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, who was governor of Pennsylvania, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida.

Other Republican names mentioned include South Dakota Sen. John Thune, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a young conservative who could help McCain mend fences with the party’s base and bring youth and energy to the ticket.

The tightly run selection process has been guided for McCain by lawyer Arthur Culvahouse, and for Obama by former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder and Caroline Kennedy, President John Kennedy’s daughter.

A third member of the Obama team, James Johnson, stepped down after questions surfaced about favorable loans he received from Countrywide Financial Corp., a key player in the U.S. housing crisis.

A heavy veil of secrecy has at times contributed to speculation about the process on both sides. A flood of visits to the gym last week prompted questions about whether Obama was meeting vice presidential candidates there.

McCain had a weekend getaway at his Arizona cabin with three top contenders — Romney, Jindal and Crist — that was billed as a social gathering. Reporters were kept miles away.

But many of the contenders have appeared in public with Obama and McCain, where the script requires that they play down their chances. Last week, Obama appeared with Bayh and Nunn.

“It’s good for my ego,” Bayh told reporters. “But I should probably let Senator Obama and his campaign address those kinds of questions.”

(Editing by Patricia Wilson and David Wiessler)
(For more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters “Tales from the Trail: 2008” online at http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)

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By Emily Kaiser

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. stock market would fare better in the first year after a victory by Republican presidential candidate John McCain than by his Democratic rival Barack Obama, according to a majority of economists at U.S. banks and research groups polled by Reuters.

But the survey of 29 firms taken alongside a regular Reuters economic poll also found that economists had mixed views on the two candidates’ economic plans.
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “very good,” 12 economists gave McCain’s proposals higher marks, while nine rated the two candidates equally and eight preferred Obama’s policies, according to the poll released on Wednesday.

The economy has supplanted the Iraq war as the main issue in the November presidential election between Arizona Sen. McCain and Illinois Sen. Obama.

The troubled housing market, tightening credit conditions and rising costs of food and energy have driven U.S. consumer confidence to a 28-year low.

The survey, conducted this week, found that 21 of the economists polled thought McCain would be better for the stock market in the first year after the election, while six chose Obama and two gave no response.

The sample includes a cross-section of U.S. financial institutions, large and small, including several prominent Wall Street names.

For investors, a key concern this election year is taxes on dividends and capital gains, which Obama has pledged to increase. He also favors allowing income tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush’s administration to expire, while McCain wants them made permanent.

“Preserving the capital gains and dividend tax rate (at) 15 percent is in my view very important to investors and therefore very important to Wall Street,” said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer of Johnson Illington Advisors in Albany, New York, explaining why he thought stocks would fare better under a McCain presidency.

McCain has said the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve’s steps to shore up troubled mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were correct and he hoped Congress would approve them.

Obama said any action to rescue Fannie and Freddie should be aimed at helping homeowners and not just shareholders, managers and investors.

Obama has called for a $50 billion economic stimulus package on top of the $152 billion plan passed earlier this year. McCain has proposed low income taxes and incentives for small businesses as ways to boost the economy.

A Reuters/Zogby poll released last week showed that just 10 percent of Americans gave the Bush administration positive marks for its handling of the economy.

The poll also found that Obama held a 7-point lead over McCain in the presidential race, and had a small edge on the question of who would best manage the economy.

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